Ten Obstacles to Board Effectiveness

Ten Obstacles to Board Effectiveness is the topic of the 2008 Advanced Trustee Workshops being held this fall.

This brand new curriculum is great for library board members interested in maximizing their value as trustees and increasing the success of their board will benefit from attending. This session is appropriate for trustees who have been on the board for at least a year.

The workshop will address frequently occurring universal obstacles that negatively impact the effectiveness of your board. Proactive solutions for each obstacle will be presented and discussed. Register to attend at one of the following locations:
· Monday, October 20th, 6:00 - 8:00pm at MHLS Auditorium (105 Market Street, Poughkeepsie)
OR
· Saturday, October 25th, 10:00am - 12:00pm at Kingston Library (55 Franklin Street, Kingston)

Presented by Josh Cohen - MHLS Executive Director, Merribeth Advocate - MHLS Outreach & Education Coordinator and Rebekkah Smith Aldrich - MHLS Coordinator of Member Information. There is a $50.00 incentive grant to libraries in 2008 if at least one of their trustees attends this session. The System will mail checks based on attendance. Light food will be served.

Registration is required. Register online at http://calendar.midhudson.org or call 845.471.6060 x46. A copy of the Workshop Notice for this event is
available at http://midhudson.org/advtrustee.pdf.

MHLS Announcements
Receive the Bulletin by Email: More than 180 library staff and trustees have already signed up to receive the MHLS Bulletin via email - you can too! Go to http://midhudson.org/bulletins/bulletin_form.htm

The 2007 MHLS Statistical Report is now online at http://midhudson.org/annual_reports/2007/main.htm

MHLS Libraries
The New Lebanon Library held an event last month to thank supporters of their building project. The event coincided with the ground-breaking of the project which includes creating a new look for the front of the library - a new entranceway, safer parking area and improved driveways, lighting and signage.

The Marlboro Free Library has received a $1,000 mini-grant from The Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial Commission (http://www.exploreny400.com). Funds will be used to finance the 2009 Hudson River-themed summer program. The library also won $1,000 from the Southeastern New York Library Resources Council to finance the digitization of photo albums in the library's local history collection that were published to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Hudson River's "discovery." The digitized images will appear in the Hudson River Valley Heritage web site (http://www.hrvh.org).

Professional Development
Students attending any of the seven library and information science schools in New York State are eligible to receive a $1,000 Dewey Scholarship from NYLA funded by a grant from the Lake Placid Educational Foundation. Students and their schools must be members of NYLA to apply for the award. Applications and additional information can be found on NYLA's web site at: http://www.nyla.org/index.php?page_id=1133 and should be submitted to the Dean or Director of the Library and Information Science School at which you are enrolled by September 30th. Recommendations from the library schools should be sent to NYLA for approval by October 15th.

Resource Sharing & Millennium
Just a reminder for all libraries to be working towards having staff computers that will meet the minimum specifications for the new release of Millennium that may be coming later this year:
o An Intel Pentium 4, Pentium D, Xeon, Core or similar processor running at 3 Ghz or faster (2 Ghz or faster for the Core 2 Duo), or an equivalent processor such as the AMD Athlon 64, Opteron 64, or Turion processors with comparable performance. (Millennium applications work on slower processors such as the Pentium 4 2.4 Ghz and faster, but performance will be affected.)
o At least 1 GB of RAM (If you plan to run other applications on the workstation in addition to Millennium, additional memory is necessary for optimum performance. Newer operating system versions such as Windows Vista require more memory then earlier versions such as Windows XP, so your library should consider additional memory when using newer operating system versions.)
o At least 500 MB of free disk space
o Sound card for audible system warnings and notices
o A mouse or other pointing device
o 800 x 600 resolution or better
To print out this information on one sheet of paper go to: http://midhudson.org/resource/millennium/r2007pc.pdf

Reference & Collection Development
"Book banning alive and well in the U.S. ALA calls on Americans to fight censorship, celebrate the freedom to read": Are books like "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," or the Harry Potter series available at your library? According to the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom, due to book challenges, more than a book a day faces removal from public access in school and public libraries. This September 27 - October 4, 2008, Americans will celebrate their freedom to read by reading a banned book during Banned Books Week. This year will mark the 27th annual celebration of the freedom to read, as thousands of libraries and bookstores nationwide host exhibits, readings and special events. Learn more at http://www.ala.org/bbooks.

Job Openings
The D. R. Evarts Library in Athens is seeking a part-time manager to work 20 hours a week on a flexible schedule. Duties include administering daily library operations and services, collection and program development, staff/volunteer supervision and budget management. Candidates must have excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Experience with Microsoft Office applications, online databases and Millennium software a plus. Two years of college and library experience preferred. Salary commensurate with experience. Send resume and letter of interest to: Board of Trustees, D. R. Evarts Library, 80 Second St., Athens, NY 12015 or to athens@mhcable.com

Chappaqua Library has a full-time position available for Principal Library Clerk (Head of Circulation). Seeking an energetic, outgoing, and team oriented individual who enjoys supervising and working with others and serving the public. Provides and models superior customer service, interpersonal and problem solving skills. Applicants must have prior library clerk experience. Duties: Manage all adult circulation operations, and other direct customer services in a very busy department; Trains, evaluates and schedules (24-25) adult part-time employees; Assures effective communication of policies and procedures with staff and customers; Statistical recordkeeping; Must be familiar with the Sirsi circulation system; Schedule will include evening and weekend hours. Salary: $39,585 - $42,610 plus benefits. Contact: Pamela Thornton, Director, Chappaqua Library, 195 South Greeley Ave., Chappaqua, NY 10514; 914.238.4779 x108; Fax: 914.238.3597; Thornton@wlsmail.org.

MHLS recommends that the minimum starting salary of a full or part-time librarian with an MLS degree be at least equal to that of a teacher with a master's degree in the same community.

Member Libraries are welcome to submit items of interest and job openings to the MHLS Bulletin: bulletin@midhudson.org. The MHLS Bulletin is available on line at http://midhudson.org/bulletins/main.htm.